I hate to admit this but I’m a chronic food waster. I’m not proud of it by any means.

It makes me cringe every time I throw away food in the trash. I don’t know if that says that I either don’t eat enough at home or that the packages at the store give you too much. Either way it’s bad news.

Last night as I was cleaning out the refridgerator, I pondered the idea of composting. I’ve thought about it before in the past but those thoughts never turned into anything. I feel like it would be quite the commitment, especially since I live in an apartment without a yard.

At my office I love that we have a compost bin. My banana and orange peels and napkins all go in the green bin. So why shouldn’t I be able to do the same at home?

Portland is definitely one of the foodie capitals. Yes, say what you want about the show Portlandia (which I do have to say is an exaggerated truth but maybe more truth than exaggeration). If you’ve ever seen the show there’s an episode where the main characters sit down at a restaurant and ask about the life of the chicken they want to order. Basically, Portland restaurants love to showcase their local and sustainable foods, including the farm animals’ diet. So the menus are always changing, depending on the season and what’s available.

Here are two restaurants that I had the pleasure of not eating inon my plate:

This weekend has not been a very good “Eating In” week/weekend. I have failed in this arena. (But then again I feel like that’s almost every weekend – anybody agree with me on this one?) Anyway, here is the first part of my ‘Not Eating In’ series, showcasing my eats from my dining out streak.

1. Healthy Steps Healthy U

At my company all employees have the opportunity to take part in a benefits wellness program called Healthy Steps. I just started my job this past September but I didn’t join the program until the beginning of January. Essentially if you part take in any physical activity – this includes work outs, riding your bike to work or any organized race or event – you have the opportunity to earn points. Once an employee reaches up to 1200 points they will receive $200 benefits dollars to their paycheck at the end of the year. Pretty awesome deal, no?!

So I know it’s not Tuesday but I wanted to share how my first Vegan Tuesday went yesterday.

My first Vegan Tuesday lunch!

I realized that being vegan on Tuesday wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be. At home for breakfast I had organic whole grain cereal with soy milk and a sliced up banana. As for lunch, the wonderful café right next to my office offers vegan soups 4 out of 5 days a week. They are simply delicious. This Tuesday’s soup was Vegan Tomato Black bean – it tasted very similar to a minestrone soup. The café offers a wonderful combo deal where you can get an 8 oz soup and 12 oz build-your-own salad for $4.95. Such a steal!

Last week I announced my pledge to keep Mondays Meatless (this also includes eliminating fish). This week I’m deciding to test out Vegan Tuesdays. I myself am neither vegan nor vegetarian, nor do I claim to be, but I don’t eat meat or poultry but occasionally eat fish.

Homegrown Smoker

A few days ago for lunch, a friend, who is vegan, and I decided to venture out of our regular soup and salad routine and try out one of Portland’s famous food carts. We were browsing through Stumptown Vegans restaurant reviews and came upon their review of a vegan food cart called Homegrown Smoker. She had also heard of this place and its raving reviews. I was intrigued. We looked at the pictures and our mouths began to water. We were sold!